THIS GOVERNMENT TOCKS BEFORE IT TICKS!

KOKU ANYIDOHO – SPOKESPERSON TO PRESIDENT MILLS

Following the indecisive nature by which the President Mills-led administration has handled a number of serious matters that have confronted the welfare of the country, a political analyst and writer, Justice Abeiku-Newton Offei, has accused the NDC government of taking rush actions before thinking through them.

Referring in particular to the latest careless statement made by the Presidential Spokesperson, Koku Anyidoho in reaction to the power outage at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, Newton Offei observed that the government of President Mills has developed the penchant of acting before thinking, a practice which has rained a lot of disgrace on the country.

It will be recalled that on June 1st, 2012, there was total darkness at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium where the Black Stars of Ghana and the Crocodiles of Lesotho were playing a World Cup qualifier. Ghana experienced the most embarrassing moment in the history of football as the flood light refused to switch to provide light, causing the match to be halted for hours.

Enter Koku Anyidoho, Director of Communications at the Castle, seat of the government. Whilst Ghanaians were anxiously waiting for the lights to come on, the presidential spokesman rather exacerbated the already poisoned situation, by calling into Joy FM and Peace FM, among others, to announce that President Mills was unhappy with the development going on in Kumasi, and that heads had already started rolling, starting with the Ashanti Regional Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). Then on Saturday a statement issued by the Information Ministry and signed by the sector minister, Hon Fritz Baffour said “the President has given no such directive and it is therefore not true that the ECG boss in the Ashanti region has been fired.”

But according to Newton-Offei, the statement released by the Presidential Spokesperson followed by the counter from the Ministry of Information is only indicative of how haphazard the Atta Mills-led government, handles issues. “Even a clock, it ticks before it tocks but these people, the way they are running the country, it seems as if they tock before they tick”, he lamented.

He described Koku Anyidoho's unguarded outbursts as very embarrassing to the presidency, asserting that the release from the Ministry of Information did little in terms of damage control. “In both cases, the president looks bad. If the President did not give that directive but Koku Anyodoho went ahead to announce the dismissal of the Ashanti ECG boss, then the President is not in control. If the President infact called for the dismissal of the ECG boss and later retracted his word, then he is not someone who thinks on his feet”, he said.

Newton-Offei expressed his disappointment at the President's refusal to fire Koku Anyidoho as the later has developed the penchant for making comments which only drag the office of the presidency in the mud.

He urged Ghanaians to vote massively for Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP come December 7, so that the seriousness and respect associated with the Presidency of Ghana will be restored.

BY YAW P. K. MANU